may have just made an unwise move

[Anonymous]

My office asked me to go from part-time to full-time. I had been wanting this, and this opportunity came up. However, they do not have enough in their budget to pay me the same hourly rate at full-time as they have done part-time, so it will be an (hourly) pay cut of about 15% There are many many other great things about working there, including benefits and flexibility. I said yes but it still nags me. They don't have the money so my option was either agree to this salary or stay part-time (at previous salary). There are no negative financial issues for the family, since at least I will be making a lot more (in total) than I have in the past. Would you have done this?

[Anonymous]

No because now you've set the low standard for your salary.

[Anonymous]

Can you undo it at this point? If not, don't stew. You'll just make yourself miserable. Forge ahead.

[Anonymous]

I probably could undo it, but I do want to work full-time at this organization. Thinking about going back to part-time also seems like a backward move. Moving to a new job would be especially hard right now because it probably wouldn't give me the same flexibility on hours that this one does. I guess that's why I agreed. But yes, I'm still stewing a little, unproductively.

[Anonymous]

Maybe you can work at your normal rate but less hours?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe you can work at your normal rate but less hours?

Like 35 instead of 40.

[Anonymous]

If you are getting paid 15 percent less, you should work .85 which works out to 34 hours a week. I would counter with Friday afternoons off.

[Anonymous]

Significant tactical error IMO to voluntarily downgrade the value of your time, that's now your position to negotiate from.

I like the Fri. afternoon off idea or something similar, but only you can judge your satisfaction w the job and weigh the alternatives such as alienating them now, in a bad job market.

[Anonymous]

Jobs that provide a lot of flexibility are rare, so if it is something that you value at a premium you should also take that into consideration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jobs that provide a lot of flexibility are rare, so if it is something that you value at a premium you should also take that into consideration.

+1.

Also depends how much the money matters. I make 200k and my DH took a 10k paycut to move to a company with flexibility. We were ok with that because in the end 10K in the grand scheme of things isn't worth losing flexibility over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are getting paid 15 percent less, you should work .85 which works out to 34 hours a week. I would counter with Friday afternoons off.

+1

[Anonymous]

If working 35 hrs per week doesn't work out, could you ask for more vacation time?

[Anonymous]

Something no one has asked: were you 1099 before? If so you are probably better off as a w2 at a lower rate. Also are you counting the vacation? 3 or 4 paid weeks vacation vs 0 is a big difference. What about 401k match?

[Anonymous]

Yes, going to full time does mean I now qualify for more vacation time off and cheaper health care. These really do add up, and probably technically overcome the 15% decrease in pay. I will just have to deal with whatever comes when it comes time to describe my salary history in the future. The 85% suggestion has given me something to ponder though I'm not sure it works in the case of my office. You guys have given me some reasonable responses here, which is nice because so far the only person I have discussed this with is my husband. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Doesn't full-time work entitle you to benefits? Compensation is more than just salary.